Texas EquuSearch to join Zaden McKnight searchers

The group searching for Zaden McKnight has teamed up with Texas EquuSearch and is planning another search for this weekend.

Monday night, local group organizer Victoria Moore said they are trying to get 100 to 200 total volunteers and will utilize 20 canoes and kayaks for the latest search scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. Saturday, on the Independence Day holiday weekend.

Exactly where the search will begin will be revealed Tuesday, Moore said.

Zaden McKnight is presumed dead, Dayton police have said. Court affidavits suggest the 4-year-old may have been killed in the basement at 23 Birchwood Ave. in Dayton. His mother, Nichelle McKnight, disappeared on March 25, shortly after she confronted Antwan Anderson about the theft of money from her bank account and one of her credit cards.

Her body was found April 11 near the banks of the Stillwater River.

Anderson was the No. 1 suspect in the disappearance of the mother and son. He died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in a shootout with police following a pursuit April 7.

Moore said Texas EquuSearch "reached out to us."

Her group then had to get approval from McKnight's family and the Dayton Police Department before making the public announcement.

"We feel like this is the team that could do something for us," she said of the search and rescue organization.

Because it has been more than 90 days since the boy's disappearance, "our backs are against the wall. That's for sure," Dave Rader, director for the Ohio chapter of Texas EquuSearch, said Monday night. "It's a major undertaking, but not impossible."

Rader said he thinks the anticipated good weather forecast for the weekend will bring people out to help with the search. He also thinks there will be plenty of boaters out, and he's asking them to be aware of anything they see that might be out of the ordinary.

Texas EquuSearch has Zaden McKnight's photo and description on its Web page.

If you know something about Zaden or have any information about his disappearance, you are asked to call Dayton police at 937-333-1222 or Texas EquusSearch at 281-309-9500

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